John Murtagh MacRossan

John Murtagh MacRossan
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1832 – 1891 59 years

Born 1832–1833Died 30 March 1891 in Sydney, New South Wales, aged 59

Arrived at Melbourne in 1853 and worked as a miner in Victoria, and probably in New South Wales and New Zealand, before 1865, by which date he was on the North Queensland goldfields. Wikipedia records that he moved to the colony of Victoria at the age of 21 to work on the gold diggings and twelve years later moved to North Queensland, where he became well known among the miners. No place is attached because the workings spanned several colonies.

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Family

Spouse

BQ Bridget Queely d. 1930 m. 1874

Children with Bridget Queely

NM Neal William MacRossan 1889–1956 JM John Michael MacRossan 1877–1926 HM Hugh Denis MacRossan 1881–1940 BM Brian Cornelius MacRossan 1879–1919 FM Francis Neal MacRossan 1885–1887 CM Charles Patrick MacRossan 1887–1889 VM Vincent Eugene James MacRossan 1883–1969

Places 12 locations

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1830s
Born 1832–1833
1850s
Occupation (Goldminer) from 1853 aged 21

Arrived at Melbourne in 1853 and worked as a miner in Victoria, and probably in New South Wales and New Zealand, before 1865, by which date he was on the North Queensland goldfields. Wikipedia records that he moved to the colony of Victoria at the age of 21 to work on the gold diggings and twelve years later moved to North Queensland, where he became well known among the miners. No place is attached because the workings spanned several colonies.

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1870s
Organiser, Ravenswood Miners' Protection Association 1871 aged 39

Ravenswood, Queensland, Australia

Organised the Ravenswood Miners' Protection Association, which petitioned the minister for the removal of the field warden. In the same year he was convicted in the Townsville court of having assaulted the warden, T. R. Hackett, whom he had publicly horsewhipped. The Australian Dictionary of Biography dates the association to 1871; the Wikipedia article dates it to 1873.

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Member for Kennedy, Queensland Legislative Assembly from 25 November 1873 to 28 November 1878 aged 41

Queensland, Australia

Returned in November 1873 to the Queensland Legislative Assembly for one of the newly constituted seats for the Kennedy electorate, a North Queensland mining district. He championed regulation of the mining industry and the separation of North Queensland as a separate colony. After some years as an independent he threw in his lot with Thomas McIlwraith. He was defeated in the 1878 elections after a last-minute decision to contest a doubtful seat.

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Married to Bridget Queely 1874 aged 42

Queensland, Australia
Birth of son John Michael MacRossan 1877 aged 45

Queensland, Australia
Birth of son Brian Cornelius MacRossan 1879 aged 47

Queensland, Australia
Secretary for Public Works and Mines, Queensland from 21 January 1879 to March 1883 aged 47

Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Held the portfolio of works and mines in the first and second McIlwraith ministries from 21 January 1879, resigning from the ministry in March 1883. His first actions in 1879 were to introduce economy and order into the railways. In 1881, at his third attempt, he carried the first mining regulations in Queensland.

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Member for Townsville, Queensland Legislative Assembly from 4 March 1879 to 30 March 1891 aged 47

Queensland, Australia

Elected for Townsville in March 1879, some weeks after being given a ministerial portfolio while out of the Assembly. He held the seat until his death in 1891.

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1880s
Birth of son Hugh Denis MacRossan 1881 aged 49

Queensland, Australia
Birth of son Vincent Eugene James MacRossan 1883 aged 51

Queensland, Australia
Birth of son Francis Neal MacRossan 1885 aged 53

Queensland, Australia
Death of son Francis Neal MacRossan 1887 aged 55

Queensland, Australiaaged 2
Birth of son Charles Patrick MacRossan 1887 aged 55

Queensland, Australia
Secretary for Mines, Queensland from June 1888 to August 1890 aged 56

Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Returned to office under McIlwraith in June 1888, holding the mines portfolio until the government resigned in August 1890. He was responsible for two mining Acts; the 1888 Act emphasised employer liability in cases of accident and included inspection by workers' representatives. Wikipedia dates the regulations providing for inspection by representatives of the miners to 1889.

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Birth of son Neal William MacRossan 1889 aged 57

Queensland, Australia
Death of son Charles Patrick MacRossan 1889 aged 57

Queensland, Australiaaged 2
1890s
Colonial Secretary of Queensland from January 1890 to August 1890 aged 58

Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Added the portfolio of colonial secretary to that of mines in January 1890, in the Morehead government, holding it until the government resigned in August 1890.

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Delegate, Australasian Federation Conference February 1890 aged 58

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Attended, with Sir Samuel Griffith, the conference on Federation called by Sir Henry Parkes at Melbourne in February 1890.

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Motion for the separation of North Queensland October 1890 aged 58

Queensland, Australia

Brought forward a motion in the Legislative Assembly for the separation of the north. Premier Samuel Griffith moved an amendment that it was desirable to have separate legislative authorities in southern, northern and central Queensland, which was carried. The motion was lost by 26 votes to 32.

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Delegate, National Australasian Convention 1891 aged 59

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

One of the Queensland representatives to the first Constitutional Convention, the National Australasian Convention held at Sydney in 1891, chosen to accompany Sir Samuel Griffith. In the convention debates he was noted for his knowledge and admiration of American precedent. He died in Sydney four weeks after the convention opened.

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Undated
Occupation (Newspaper proprietor)

Controlled the Northern Advocate and Miners' Journal for some time and was rumoured to have other newspaper interests in the north. No dates are recorded by the source.

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1890s
Buried 1891 aged 59

Nudgee, Queensland, Australia

Buried at Nudgee, Queensland, following a funeral at St Stephen's Cathedral. He had been suffering from heart disease for some years and died of an attack of bronchitis during the 1891 convention in Sydney. The exact date of burial is not given by the sources.

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Died 30 March 1891 aged 59

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia